How Can You Tell If Your Anti-Ageing Skincare Is Working?
It can be tricky to know if your skincare is doing its job. With our modern day busy lives taking over, we don’t often have the time to reflect. Why can’t the initial buzz of trying out a new skincare product last forever? Our skin loves it at first, but then we slack on other things like getting enough water or sleep and the skincare products become less effective. To find out how well your skincare is working to reduce wrinkles and age lines there are a few tests you can try out. We’ve also touched on a few tips on when it's the right time to tell if your anti-ageing products are working.
Test Your Pout Lines
Under our nose and around our mouth can get dry easily - anti ageing products for this area would help lock in moisture to avoid wrinkles. Look in the mirror and pout for 5 seconds, then relax. If you still see age lines you may want to think of trying a new product or regime all together.
Test Your Smile Eyes
Did you know you smile with your eyes? Whenever we smile, our eyes light up the skin around our eyes moves with our smile, causing ‘crows feet’ or wrinkles around the edge of our eyes. To test this smile in the mirror for 5 seconds and then relax, if you can still see age lines either side of your eyes then you might want to try a specific anti-ageing eye cream to address the issue. (But don’t worry too much, as this means you’ve spent your lifetime smiling!)
Test The Elasticity In Your Skin
We all know that as our skin naturally ages we lose the elastin and collagen that makes our skin plump and youthful. A light pinch of the skin on the apples of cheeks will be able to assess whether you need some added moisture to relieve your skin of dryness and sagging.
Take Into Account Your Skin Type
To know if your anti-ageing skincare is working properly you need to take into account your skin type, your age and other factors that make up your skin. Is your skin naturally oily or dry? Are you in an age bracket where you would normally see lots of wrinkles? Do you smoke or drink regularly? All of these questions give us a unique combination of answers; you really are the only person that knows what it’s like to live in your skin. With this information you can try different products for your skin type, different strengths of retinol and know if you need to test your lifestyle habits against your skin.
Stop Trying To Look For One Miracle Product
It’s easy to get caught up in all of the miracle ingredients and products on the market but in reality there's no one product or ingredient that can work on your whole face and neck. Different areas of our skin have different needs. The skin around our eyes is more sensitive than the rest, our necks will naturally sag with excess skin before other areas of our face. Our cheeks can be prone to discolouration and dryness is more common around our nose. All of this means we need different products with different ingredients for different places on our face and neck to address anti-ageing issues.
Being Consistent Is Key
Just like any other part of your body, your skin takes time to heal and rejuvenate. You can’t expect to soak up the formula over night and see a difference. Although some products don’t take long for your skin to show a difference, most anti-ageing routines and products need at least a few weeks to see lasting results. You are growing a new layer of skin after all.
How Long Should You Wait?
Unfortunately there is no definitive answer for this one. It truly depends on your skin and what it needs. For the most part, anti-aging products will cover a range of 12 - 2 weeks for changes to take effect. You may find that with some exfoliating products, they will work quicker as it’s just a matter of removing a layer of dead skin to reveal healthier, younger skin below. Whereas products such as anti-ageing moisturisers will take a little longer because you need to take into account the time it takes your body to absorb the formula.
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